richard holbrooke

22nd United States Ambassador to the United Nations In office

August 25, 1999 – January 20, 2001 President Bill Clinton Preceded by Bill Richardson Succeeded by John D. Negroponte Born April 24, 1941 (1941-04-24) (age 67)

New York City, New York Political party Democratic Alma mater Brown University

Princeton University Religion Jewish

Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (born April 24, 1941), Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration, is a top-ranking American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, Peace Corps official, and investment banker. He is also the only person to have held the Assistant Secretary of State position for two different regions of the world (Asia from 1977–1981, and Europe from 1994–1996).

From 1993–1994, he was U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Although long well-known in diplomatic and journalistic circles, Holbrooke achieved great public prominence only when he brokered a peace agreement among the warring factions in Bosnia that led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, in 1995. Holbrooke was a contender in the replacement of Warren Christopher but ultimately lost to Madeleine Albright in 1997 when Bill Clinton chose a replacement for the Secretary of State. From 1999–2001, Holbrooke served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

He was an advisor to the Presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry in 2004. Holbrooke then joined the Presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and became a top foreign policy adviser; Holbrooke was considered a candidate for Secretary of State in a Clinton or Obama administration.

On January 22, 2009, Holbrooke was appointed as a special adviser on Pakistan and Afghanistan, working under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. [1] Contents [hide] 1 Public service 1.1 Vietnam (1962–1969) 1.2 Morocco and foreign policy (1970–1976) 1.3 Carter Administration (1977–1981) 1.4 U.S. Ambassador to Germany 1.5 Balkan envoy 1.6 U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations 2 Business career, humanitarian work, and other activities 2.1 Wall Street years (1981–1993) 2.2 Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria 2.3 Other activities 3 Position on Iraq 4 Controversies 4.1 East Timor controversy 4.2 Lawrence controversy 4.3 Karadžic controversy 5 Personal biography 6 Chronology 7 Books 8 See also 9 References 10 External links //

Public service

Vietnam (1962–1969)

In 1962, Holbrooke graduated from Brown University, where he was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s call to service to enter government work.[2]. He was also influenced by the guidance of Secretary of State Dean Rusk, whose son, David, was Holbrooke’s closest friend at Scarsdale High School, from which he graduated in 1958. [3] A few weeks after college graduation, Holbrooke entered the Foreign Service. A year later, after Vietnamese language training, he began six years of service in and on Vietnam.